Every Girl's Wonderland

A new addition to my M.A.C lipstick collection!

For some reason, I have been "craving" red recently.

Red manicure, red shoes, red scarf, red bag, and, of course, red lipstick.

Most of my lipsticks are shades of pink (and maybe a few peaches),
which did not satisfy my cravings.

So, a couple of days ago, I put on red polish on my nails and set out to the M.A.C store.

I introduce to you-

DIVA

"Diva" has a matte finish.

Look at that body of color.

Beautiful.

M.A.C's official website describes the color as
"intense reddish-burgundy"
which is exactly what Diva is.

I moisturized my lips with a little bit of lip balm before applying the color with a lip brush.
The color would come out more vibrant and intense if applied directly onto the lips.

This is the shade of burgundy red that I was looking for, and I LOVE it.

I have tried out colors such as Russian Red, M.A.C Red, and so forth at the M.A.C store,
but they were all a very bright red.

There was also Dark Side, described as "deep burgundy,"
which was very similar to Diva, except it had an amplified creme texture,
which is more creamy and glossy yet vibrant.

I was almost tempted to buy Dark Side for its glossier finish,
but I decided if I buy Diva, I can do both matte and glossy (with the help of lipgloss).

Maybe it's because of the dark color, but the staying power is impressive,
and I love how it gives a stain-like quality.

Even if you dab the lipstick on your fingertip and apply it on your lips,
the color comes out very vibrant.

I think Diva is a perfect color for the fall and winter!

No matter how tired, lazy, or sick I am, I NEVER forget to wash my face and moisturize. Cleansing is one of THE important steps to healthy skin. As someone who takes great care in my skin care, I have tried a variety of makeup removers and cleansers throughout the years. Here are a few items from the top of head.

FYI, I have combination skin that used to be acne-prone. At the present, I only break out every now and then (thank goodness). Also, I always follow with a face wash (usually a foaming cleanser) after using a makeup remover/cleanser. It's not required, but I feel more comfortable doing so. However, if your skin is more sensitive and on the drier side, this might take away too much moisture. Thus, I try to use a foaming cleanser that is gentle and moisturizing.

SHU UEMURA CLEANSING OIL - 5 oz. $32, 15.2 oz. $72

Probably one of the first makeup removers/cleansers that I have used. I have tried Fresh (picture) and Premium A/O (the green one, which has green tea extracts). There are many different types, and they vary slightly in the extracts as well as the oil's thickness and heaviness. Fresh is recommended for those who want a lighter and "fresher" texture. Premium A/O is recommended for those who have acne-related problematic skins, because of the oxidants in green tea extracts. Premium A/O did seem slightly thicker than Fresh.

Those who have combination/oil skin would say, "I have oily skin, therefore cleansing oil is not for me!" It is true that no two skins are alike, and what suits one skin may not suit the other. However, just because you have combo/oily skin doesn't mean cleansing oils are out of the question. Oil breaks down oil, so cleansing oil might be a great solution for some of you with combo/oil skin.

The way this works is that you pump some oil onto DRY HANDS and massage it over your DRY SKIN for a few minutes to make sure that the oil has gotten to your makeup and/or residue. Then you dampen your hands and massage your face with a little bit of warm water. In this process, the oil will emulsify and turn milky white. Once you've massaged enough, all you need to do is rinse off with warm water. It leaves your skin free of makeup and soft and moist without having stripped away too much moisture.

I really like Shu Uemura's cleansing oil - it's just that they're so expensive. So, after a couple of bottles, I've bought other more affordable brands. Like the next one.

BIORE PERFECT OIL

No so cheap in the States - I've seen one for $16, and this costs less than 1000 yen (if I'm remembering it right, about 7~800 yen) in Japan! But definitely cheaper than Shu Uemura. This is one of the most popular cleansing oils in Japan. It's cheap, and it works darn well. Apparently, you can use this with wet hands, although I haven't really tried it myself. I think I went through 2 or 3 bottles of this one. This also removed my eye makeup very well and quickly - even the most stubborn waterproof mascaras. I mean, the Shu Uemura cleansing oil does too, but I felt that this one did a better job. I would definitely get this one again if it wasn't so expensive here!

CLINIQUE TAKE THE DAY OFF CLEANSING BALM - 3.8 oz. $27

This was an interesting one. It looks and feels very waxy and... balmy, I guess. However, the moment you start massaging the waxy stuff on to your dry face, it magically "melts" into a clear and oily texture. Like cleansing oils, you massage this onto your skin and then emulsify the balm with dampened hands before rinsing off. This also did a decent job on removing mascaras. The only downside is that you have to unscrew the jar and dig into the stuff. Not so convenient. But still, I did enjoy using up the jar.

CLINIQUE TAKE THE DAY OFF CLEANSING MILK - 6.7 oz. $24

The first bottle, I hated it. As someone who liked to remove eye makeup during the cleansing process, this stuff stung my eyes like crazy at my first attempt. Never tried to remove my mascara with this again. However, I tried a new bottle out recently (4-5 years after the first one), and I didn't hate it as much. Definitely more convenient than the balm (and cheaper too). It does its job of removing makeup, but I personally didn't like how my skin felt afterwards. Not saying that this doesn't do a good job, but you know, everyone has their preference of how their skin feels after a good cleansing.

SHISEIDO PERFECT GEL

After I used its foaming cleanser, Perfect Whip, which I really liked, I decided to try Perfect Gel. (There are also Perfect Liquid and Perfect Oil.) Although it works like the cleansing oil (massage it on dry skin, emulsify with dampened hands, rinse off), the texture is obviously different because it's a gel. (Duh.) If I'm remembering it correctly, it didn't remove mascara very well, but it did remove makeup well and made my skin feel fresh.

It's 160 grams, and I see that they are being sold for $13~15. This was definitely less than 1000 yen in Japan - maybe around 700 yen? But then, I bought this like 3 years ago, so I may be wrong.

SHISEIDO PURENESS REFRESHING CLEANSING WATER - 5 oz. $21

Up until last year, I had never used cleansing waters before. I was skeptical - how would wiping your face with a cotton pad thoroughly remove makeup and dirt? I also thought it would irritate the skin through the wiping process. However, curiosity got to me, and after researching different products, I decided to try using Shiseido, because I had used their products before. The result? Pretty satisfactory.

First of all, the scent is very soothing and gentle - it's the type of clean scent that I like. Also, the product itself is soothing and gentle as well. I usually pumped 2-3 times on a cotton pad and that would be enough to wipe my face. Because I usually followed with a foaming cleanser, I didn't do a second round. However, for those who want this to be a convenient, one-step process, you can continue to wipe your face until no more makeup/dirt comes off on the cotton pad. While the product is gentle, it does a great job of taking everything off (except, of course, mascara) and leaving the skin refreshed and slightly moisturized.

Another pros was that I could take my makeup off as soon as I got back home without having to wet my face. In that case, I would spritz on a light moisturizing spray for the rest of the day and then fully wash my face with a foaming cleanser before bedtime. Also, wiping makeup/dirt off from my neck was an easier process. I always find that washing your neck is so hard to do, because you drip water all over yourself!

Cons is that it doesn't remove mascara very well. But then, I should stop repeating this, because mascara is best removed with an oil-based eye makeup remover.

As much as I liked this product, I seemed to run out of it faster than the other products, and thus, I looked for something cheaper.

SEPHORA PURIFYING MAKEUP REMOVER

Now, I know this is not a good thing, but I have always been skeptical about skin care products that are cheap. Of course, that doesn't mean one should only buy expensive, high-end products, but I didn't want to apply anything on my skin, my FACE, that didn't seem so credible. Well, throwing that aside, I must say that I was skeptical about this product. However, after testing it out on the back of my makeup-polluted hand, I decided to go for it. I got very nervous about using this on my face, because I did not want to get any breakouts... and breaking out from a skin care product is painful.

Fortunately, I didn't break out, and I ended up loving this product. It did what Shiseido did for me and at a much cheaper price. I believe the big bottle was $12. It was a great product AND cheap. I think I went through 2 bottles of this before Sephora decided to discontinue it... I was devastated! Now they have the new Cleansing Water, which I haven't tried out yet, so I don't know how different it is. Hopefully it's the same or even better. I'm thinking of trying the new product out after I use my current makeup remover.

SUGGOI CLEANSING

And now, my current makeup remover/cleanser is this - Suggoi Cleansing, which literally means "amazing cleansing." I head this is a very popular product in Japan, one that is favored by Kabuki actors to erase their heavy makeup, which implies that this indeed is an "amazing" cleanser. It has a gel-like texture - much like the Perfect Gel above. Same process - massage on dry skin and make sure that the gel has gotten to all the makeup, emulsify with dampened hands, and then rinse off.

My personal opinion is that it's not so different from any other cleansers - it does its job, but I don't know if it's "amazing." It's probably because I don't put on a lot of makeup (I hardly use foundation) so I don't know it's potential strength. However, it's a little disappointing that this doesn't remove mascara very well... It does for some, but definitely not waterproof mascara. But still, it's gentle and does its job.

Looking at Amazon.jp, this product is about 2000 yen. My friend from Japan bought two bottles for me when he visited NYC. No new makeup remover/cleanser for me for another half year.

But my explorations will never end!

This past weekend, my roommate and I went on a random trip to Mitsuwa, a Japanese mall at Edgewater, NJ. While browsing through the fun and interesting aisle of Japanese cosmetic products, I stumbled upon this. 

Kose's Clear Turn Essence Mask (White)

While contemplating on whether I want to try this out or not, a Japanese lady who also happened to be at the same aisle told me, "I really recommend that mask. It's great." So I decided, why not? This particular one that I bought was "White," which contains skin brightening essence, but there are three other types - Collagen, Q10, and Hyaluronic Acid. 

The package looks pretty much like a wet tissue box - you open up the seal, take out a mask, and reseal the container. One package contains 22 masks. The masks aren't thick - they are very thin and adhere well to your skin, which is good. I also like the fact that they don't ooze down with the essence, because that's one of the reasons I don't like using this type of masks. 

You can use it daily or 2-3 times a week, depending on your preference. I prefer the latter - when I feel like my skin needs some nourishment after the harsh winds that NYC has been having recently, I simply take one out and put it on my face after I wash my face in the evening. I leave it on for about 10~15 minutes, take it off, pat the remaining essence into my skin, and then lock the moisture in with night cream. While the mask has helped brighten up my complexion a bit, I like how my skin feels more hydrated. 

Very easy and convenient to use. Definitely a great treat for your skin! You can buy the product here. 

"Speed Dial" has a cremesheen texture, which is a relatively new line of finishes.

It has full coverage, yet it applies very smoothly. 

Like its name indicates, cremesheen lipsticks are creamy but also has a slight glossy finish. 

M.A.C's official site describes it as light blue pink. 

Don't know exactly what it means when a pink has blue hues to it,
but I was a bit surprised at the description. 

To me, Snob (Satin) - which I will be reviewing in the near future - seems closer to a blue pink. 

For some reason, this color reminds me of a lighter version of Pink Nouveau (Matte).
(Review will also come soon.)

The color comes out pretty vibrant after first application,
but it is definitely buildable to full coverage for a more intense color. 

I haven't worn this color around as much,
because it doesn't seem to fit well with my style of makeup. 

For some reason, it feels like a color that my mom would wear...

About a week ago, I had an opportunity to receive Calgel Nail Art for an inexpensive price, 
thanks to my church friend, who had an acquaintance with the nail artist.

Calgel has a honey-like consistence that is painted over your nails (or artificial nails) 
and then cured under a UV lamp for just a couple of minutes. 

According to its official website, Calgel "promotes promotes nail health"
and "won't lift, peel, chip, go rubbery or damage your nails" 
unlike the more well-known acrylics and such. 

You can also do nail extensions using Calgel. 

When your nails grow out a bit, you can simply do fill-ins,
or you can use a special solution to soak off the Calgel
and remove it without damaging your nails. 

After applying a base coat of clear Calgel,
Rosa (the nail artist) applied a thin layer of silver (which isn't really visible).
Then she painted small dots of dark pink, light pink, and white
and swirled them together to give a marbling effect.
She drew a silver glitter line and put on
a small gem stone on each of my ring fingernail. 

It's very interesting to see how the colors come out translucent after they are cured. 

I would say the process took a good two hours,
because each fingernail had to be cured upon application or else the Calgel would flow down. 

However, despite having a sore butt, I am very satisfied with the results. 

The pros would be that Calgel definitely does not chip or peel,
so you don't need to stress about ruining your newly painted nails. 

Also, as someone who has weak nails,
Calgel definitely seems to protect my nails and make them harder. 

Calgel can last even a month, depending on your nail growth.
However, it is recommended that you soak them off when they grow out to
about midpoint of your nails, or else they can break off.
(And that including your actual fingernails. Yuck.)

However, the cons would be the expensive price tag.
Luckily for me, Rosa was very generous and only accepted material fees. 

Also, as mentioned above, the process takes a longer time than
getting your ordinary manicure, depending on what kind of nail art you receive. 

Overall, it has been over a week since I received Calgel Nail Art,
and I have received so many comments on how pretty they are. 

They are still intact, and although my nails have grown out a little,
I reapplied the topcoat, which seems to help fill out the gaps a bit. 

Hopefully, I'll get another opportunity to redo my nails in the near future!